Social Stress and Health

Stress is a heightened mind-body reaction to stimuli inducing fear or anxiety
- Threatening/ burdensome situation
- Affects mental and physical health
-Varies by age, gender, race/ ethnicity, SES
- Stressful situations can be positive or negative

Life events, chronic stressors, daily hassles, and network events (stress contagion)

- A self-assessment tool for measuring the total stress you're experiencing
Critiques include
- Variations by age, class, gender, race
- Confounding casuality (some events may result from stress, not cause stress)
- May overlook important factors
- Doesn't adjust for other factors

- Work
- Money
- The economy
- Family responsibilities

Looking glass self
- We see ourselves as we think others see us
- We see in our mind the other person's evaluation of us
- As a result, we experience "self-feelings" (pride, satisfaction, humiliation)
- Stress can result from discrepancy between our self perception and how others see us

- People cope based on how they were socialized
- Different people respond to crisis differently
- People respond to crisis based on their definition of the situation and their past experiences

- People gain information though someone's appearance, past experience with similar people, social setting, and impression management
- Individuals present their "face"
- Self is sacred, shows who we are

- Higher heart rate
- Higher blood pressure
- Gastrointestinal function issues

Adrenal glands
- Epinephrine and norepinephrine
–Pituitary glands

- Wear and tear on the body
- Premature aging
- Allostatic load

- Coherence
- Confidence and faith that things will work out
- Strong social connections contribute

- Italian American community in Roseto, Pennsylvania
- Strong social ties with family, church, and clubs
– Stability with community, marriage w/i same ethnic groups
–Heart attacks were 50% lower than 4 surrounding towns in the 1950s
- Reduced social integration increased risk of heart attacks

- Men more stressed with work, finances
–Women more stressed with family
- Higher social ranks deal better with stress and have more resources
- Have health insurance, have sick leave, take vacations, seek professional help, change jobs, work remotely
–Decrease in advantage down the social ladder

- Detachment from society increases stress
- Example: military officer retires, loses ties

- Dislocation of norms, lack of regulation
- Example: Sudden wealth or poverty

- Strongly integrated with society's demands that suicide is the only escape
- Example: widow commits suicide at husband's funeral

- Hopeless situations
- Example: bullied teens, concentration camps

- Caused by extreme trauma
- Responses include demoralization, emotional numbness, avoidance, flashbacks, guilt, anger

- Exercise
- Listen to music, read
– Visit with friends/family
– Seek professional health
- Attend community event
- Religion
- Humor

- Denial
- Ruminating, catastrophizing
- Substance use
- Poor diets (fast food)
- Sedentary behavior
- Sleep deprivation (or excess)
- Self-distraction
- Disengagement
- Self-blame